MacTech Blog

Sep 16

Consumer electronics spending trend could be good news...

The U.S. consumer electronics (CE) market has been hit disproportionately hard by the economic downturn, with U.S. households projected to spend 17% less on CE in 2010 than the previous year. This is the largest projected decline in CE spending among the 20 countries surveyed by the International Data Corp. (http://www.idc.com) in a recent ConsumerScape 3600 study. Strangely, this could be good news for Apple.

Let me explain.

Among these countries, the emerging BRIC markets (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are expected to lead the CE recovery with household CE spending gains of more than 20% year over year. Despite the decline in U.S. CE spending, IDC found that important opportunities still exist within key product categories and across specific consumer market segments.

Even though U.S. consumers are spending less on CE, they still own more devices (an average of 15.4 major devices per household...

The news is full of stories related to a possible hack of the copy protection system common to HDTV, Blu-Ray disks, video game disks and even iTunes music. This is not unanticipated, but much sooner than many had expected. The sky is not falling, but this is a significant issue for reasons that go well beyond the companies that have content to protect.

Copyright protection is the legal right to sue someone for "copying" your original content. Any time something is written, drawn or fixed in a tangible form, such as paper, a disk or the like, the content is automatically protected by a copyright. The person who owns the rights is the author, unless they have assigned their rights to someone else. This article is original content, but when I submit it to "MacNews" it will become the copyright property of "MacNews" due to an agreement I made with the company.

While you can sue if your content is stolen, you are entitled only to...

Apple is normally a leader in, well, just about every area of technology. However, MSI has introduced a new all-in-one computer that I think is a foreshadowing of features we'll see on upcoming iMacs. Well, at least I hope it's a hint of iMac things to come.

The Wind Top AE2420 3D (http://us.msi.com/WindTop/3DAE2420) is the world’s first 3D touch screen all-in-one computer. Unlike 3D TVs, the Wind Top AE2420 3D is designed to address the current disconnect between people’s interest in 3D entertainment, and the limited availability of content, as it can bring almost any 2D content -- from home movies to DVD rentals and 3D Blu-Ray -- to life in 3D, according to the folks at MSI.

The FCC, the agency that controls radio frequencies in the US, is about to open up some long wave frequencies in the 700 MHz range that are now available due to the digital TV frequency changes last year. The frequencies are particularly valuable since they penetrate buildings and go further with the same amount of radio energy as shorter wave frequencies that don't go nearly so far, or through walls very well. Look for miles of transmission distances instead of hundreds of feet.

Further, this new SuperWiFi frequencies are not going to be regulated and will, thus, be like current WiFi and BlueTooth, where the radio chip sets are tested and approved by the FCC but the use of the frequencies will be available to anyone. Wireless devices will also have to transmit back to the more distant Wi-Fi sites, so additional and more powerful SuperWIFi cards will be required.

I can remember having Nokia cell phones, but that goes back a few years. Recently the smart phone revolution has taken it's toll, and Nokia's market share has fallen off dramatically. In an attempt to reinvigorate the company, they ditched their CEO of long standing, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo to tap a former Microsoft Executive, Stephen Elop for the job. To a great extent it might be sort of like rearranging the deck chairs on the doomed ship Titanic.

Apple and Google have the app store business so locked up, Rim and Nokia and the also rans are struggling to even stay in the game. I can well remember extremely stupid smart phones. I had one Motorola (also a sinking ship) cell phone that had a web access element that even a Sprint service center couldn't get up and running. Despite acknowledging the problem, the Sprint customer service department was reluctant to remove the charges on my bill for that service...

Thirteen percent of current pay TV subscribers in the US say they are "somewhat" or "very" likely to cancel their current subscription in the next 12 months -- and not sign up with another provider -- according to a survey of 2,000 US households recently conducted by Strategy Analytics (http://www.strategyanalytics). And I may be among them.

The firm says that “cord cutting,” the practice of dropping traditional paid television service in favor of free broadcast or Internet-delivered “Over the Top” (OTT) content is a growing trend. And if all cable and satellite companies are gouging customers like they're gouging me (my Comcast bill jumped $42 from one month to the next with no change in service and no explanation -- yet -- as to why), who can blame them?

“While it may represent only a relatively small percentage today, we anticipate the number of cord cutters to increase going forward,”...

Well, I would have thought it would have been bigger, but Uptrends.com (http://www.uptrends.com), a global webs site monitoring company, says the 1024 x 768 screen resolutions size is used more often than any other size.

The 1024 x 768 screen resolution size has the largest share of global usage, with global usage of 25.17%. But less and less people are using this resolution. In April 2007, the share of global usage was 55.34%. Internet users worldwide have been increasingly choosing larger screens with higher screen resolution. Apple might make a note of this, as the company seems to think that the world wants increasingly smaller displays (witness the latest iPad nano).

In a study conducted by Uptrends, the usage of smaller screen resolutions such as 800 x 600 is also on the decline. For example in April 2007, the global usage of the 800 x 600 screen resolution size was 8.18 percent. In this year’...

According to new projections from ABI Research (http://www.abiresearch.com), the number of subscribers to mobile WiMAX services will approach 59 million in 2015. And I think the technology will come to Macs in the not-too-distant future.

That represents a positive forecast in light of recent economic conditions, although research analyst Xavier Ortiz notes, “WiMAX’s growth has not been as early or as strong as many would have hoped several years ago.”

The recession certainly played a role, making investors wary and delaying some deployments, he says. On top of that, delays in the formation of the new Clearwire have constrained the rest of the ecosystem to some degree, from subscribers to devices and chipsets. The factors impeding WiMAX’s growth haven’t been technological, according to Ortiz, but economic and psychological.

Two Apple patents have appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office showing that Apple wants to beef up the viewing options in iTunes on Macs.

Patent 20100229088 is for graphical representations of music using varying levels of detail. Systems, methods, and machine-readable media are disclosed for providing graphical representations of music of varying levels of detail. An electronic device can determine the attributes of a first type (e.g., genre) associated with the music.

The electronic device can display a graphical representation of the music using the attributes. The graphical representation can be based on a spiral, helix, map, or any other geometric shape or curve. A user can zoom into a portion of the graphical representation to select the music of a particular genre in which to view more detailed information. In response, the electronic device can determine the attributes of a second, more detailed type (e.g., artist) associated with the selected music...

An Apple patent (number 2010027643) has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office involving duplex audio for a mobile communication device and accessory.

Duplex audio is provided for a mobile communication device and an accessory. In some embodiments, the accessory can selectably operate in a duplex audio mode, concurrently sending audio to and receiving audio from the mobile communication device, or in another audio mode. In duplex audio mode, the accessory can enable its internal audio processing operations (e.g., echo cancellation) while the mobile communication device disables its corresponding internal operations or vice versa. The mobile communication device can control when the accessory transitions into and/or out of duplex audio mode. The inventor s are Jason Y. Yew and Lawrence G. Bolton.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "The present disclosure relates in general to mobile communication devices that interoperate with...

An Apple patent (number 20100225657) for systems and methods for operating a display has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. It's for LCD screens on computers and TVs to be able to run in two different modes.

Embodiments of the electronic device include a display driver with the ability to receive image data in a streaming display mode or a frame-buffered display mode. In some embodiments, the electronic device may switch seamlessly between the two display modes based on which display mode will provide reduced power usage given the type and/or variability of the image data being received. The inventors are Kapil V. Sakariya and Wei H. Yao.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are commonly used as screens or displays for a wide variety of electronic devices, including consumer electronics such as televisions, computers, and handheld devices (e.g., cellular telephones, audio and video players, gaming...

An Apple patent (number 20100225429) has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office that shows the company is looking at ways and accessories to improve the camera features of the iPhone and iPod touch (and probably the next gen iPad).

Systems and methods are providing for aligning an accessory to an electronic device interface. In particular, some accessories such as optical filters and lens require specific alignment to operative properly. Using a first magnet array positioned around the periphery of the interface and a second magnet array positioned within the accessory, a user can position an accessory on the electronic device and rotate the accessory until the magnets of each array exert a force on an opposing magnet of the other array. By distributing the magnets in a manner that includes no repeating segments, only a single alignment of the accessory relative to the interface can allow the magnet arrays to be properly in opposition. Richard Tsai is the inventor...

I haven't yet decided if iTunes 10 is, for me, an good upgrade or not. Quite frankly, I doubt I'll use Ping. I'm on Facebook and that's about enough social networking for ome.

However, it occurred to me that the Apple App Store needs playlists like the Music Store has. In other words, if I'm a very successful real estate agent that others are trying to emulate, and I want to share my setup, I should be able to create a playlist of apps that others can see.

Now maybe this will be taken care of once Ping adds Apps, Books, etc. In that case, I might use Ping after all.

Samsung Mobile has announced the results of a new online survey that showed working Americans who own smart phones are breaking old boundaries on when and where it’s appropriate to make and take business calls. And some folks are a bit too enamored of the phones.

According to the results, these professionals conduct their business far, far away from the office setting including while on vacation, the bathroom, during a date, at church or even during -- now, c'mon, folks, get a life -- sex. Respondents admit the need to stay connected and productive with their jobs led them to take their business calls into more private settings than ever before, such as a trip to the bathroom or during an intimate moment with their significant other.

Close to three quarters (72%) were comfortable taking calls on the commode, while at least one out of every 10 people came clean about doing business over the phone at a funeral (16%) or in the throes of passion (10%). Other taboo...

"VentureBeat" says that all Apple would have to do is launch an Apple TV version of the Apple App Store on Apple TV with downloadable game apps. The article says that Apple might "further disrupt the business by selling its own Apple-branded connected TVs with Apple TV built right in." Since Apple has cool touchscreen and motion-sensing controls in its iPod Touch, iPad and iPhone devices, it already has lots of...

Three Apple patents in addition to those already covered have appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each.

Patent number 7792881 is for a method and apparatus for managing file extensions in a digital processing system. An exemplary method of managing file extensions in a digital processing system involves a user interface and a plurality of files, each file having a name that comprises a filename and an extension. The method includes associating a file with an indicator which is user selectable for a single file in a plurality of files in said digital processing system and which indicates how to display an extension of the file, and assigning a value to the indicator, and displaying a displayed name of the file in the user interface in a style determined by the indicator. The inventors are Scott Forstall and Edward D. Voas.

Apple has won a QuickTime related patent from the US Patent & Trademark Office for "One-Click Full Screen Video." The invention provides a method and system for playing full-screen video on a user computer.

The method includes displaying in the user interface at the user computer a web page containing at least one link to electronic video file, selecting the link to request the video file, downloading the video file to user computer in response to the request, detecting by the user computer receipt of the video file, opening in the user interface to window of the video player in full-screen mode in response to the detecting, and reading the video file by the player to play the video in the window.

A feature of the present invention is that the video player may not have its preferences preset by the user to open in any particular mode. The mode in which the video player opens will be determined by the downloaded video file. The inventors are Robert Douglas Werner...

Samsung Mobile has announced the results of a new online survey that showed working Americans who own smart phones are breaking old boundaries on when and where it’s appropriate to make and take business calls. And some folks are a bit too enamored of the phones.

According to the results, these professionals conduct their business far, far away from the office setting including while on vacation, the bathroom, during a date, at church or even during -- now, c'mon, folks, get a life -- sex. Respondents admit the need to stay connected and productive with their jobs led them to take their business calls into more private settings than ever before, such as a trip to the bathroom or during an intimate moment with their significant other.

Close to three quarters (72%) were comfortable taking calls on the commode, while at least one out of every 10 people came clean about doing business over the phone at a funeral (16%) or in the throes of passion (10%). Other taboo...

In preparing this article, I have come to view Apple TV/Netflix as not a replacement for Dish but as a cheap "pay for view" movie channel option to replace a satellite channel I am currently subscribed to.

I am going to drop one movie channel (US$12 a month) to pay for a subscription to NetFlix ($8.99 + $2.00 for HD). That revelation allowed me to make a personal decision to go ahead and buy the Apple TV device and subscribe to NetFlix. Here is my take on this.

As was anticipate by many in the Apple fan base, Steve Jobs recently announced a new and improved version of Apple TV last week. The new device is much smaller and more powerful than the previous version, but still does not support full 1080HD. It steams up to 720p video from either Wi-Fi or ethernet, so connecting it to the web is easy.

You can stream content from a computer through Wi-Fi to the AppleTV box or directly connect the Apple TV box to the web, through...

Toshiba working on a 3D TV that doesn't require glasses, and this could be a game changer for 3D technology, if it works. However, some folks think that Quad HD/4K could be the next big thing in HDTVs. And -- who knows? -- it might filter over into Macs.

As noted by "ZDNet" (http://macosg.me/2/sn), Quad HD/4K provides more than four times the resolution of 1080p HD at 3840 x 2160 (slightly less than the 4K digital cinema standard, but way more than the 1920 x 1080 of today's HDTVs). While it will require its own set of infrastructure updates (new TVs, additional bandwidth to get the content into your home, etc.), it won’t require any pair of glasses on the end user’s face.

In August Marseille Networks demoed its its complete, end to end 4K-over-HDMI prototyping system, stimulating the rapid adoption of Quad-HD resolution in Blu-ray and audio video receivers (AVRs) for the next wave of high definition...

While 1 million people have already enabled Ping in iTunes 10, plenty of picky early adopters have found it lacking.

On Wednesday, following a keynote address from Steve Jobs, Apple released iTunes 10, the latest version of the popular media management software. One of its major features is "Ping," a new music social network from Apple.

According to an Apple press release, over 1 million people have already enabled Ping in iTunes 10, making it a pretty successful launch by most standards. Nevertheless, plenty of Ping's pickier early adopters have found it to be lacking in a number of ways, citing major perceived failures and sundry minor annoyances, including the following.

1) No way to "like" or "post" podcasts on your profile. This is a major FAIL for anyone who...

Andrew Eisner, Retrevo.com's director of Community and Content, predicts the next platform for apps will be connected TVs. Retrevo sees a living room where TV viewers click on a weather app or sports app instead of watching the local news.

A home where families play a board game together on the TV using the Monopoly app, or stay in touch with their friends with a FaceBook app, all from the comfort of the living room couch. Following are some of Eisner's thoughts on the looming battler for the TV OS.

"Microsoft unlikely to win this battle

"Unlike the battle for the desktop OS it doesn't look like Microsoft has much of a chance of winning this battle for the TV OS. Competition over who will provide a TV OS is heating up with Google TV getting set to take on all comers for control of the living room. Meanwhile Apple may soon lob a salvo with an updated version of their Apple TV that will plant Apple iPhone/iPad apps firmly in the living room TV...

An Apple patent (number 20100223563) for remotely defining an user interface for a handheld device has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. It involves using your Mac to arrange the icons on an idevice and also thinks at an Apple watch, though I'm not holding my breath on this.

In some embodiments, a host computer can be used by a user to arrange icons among a plurality of home screens or views. For example, a representation of each of the home screens available at a handheld device can be displayed on a host computer along with a representation of the available icons usable at the handheld device. A user can select representation of icons at the host computer and arrange the icons among the representations of the home screens. Icons and/or home screens can be added and/or removed. The arrangement created by the user at the host computer display can be sent to the handheld device when completed. James Green is the inventor.

An Apple patent (number 20100223400) has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office regarding features -- both present and future -- of Apple's GarageBand app. The app is for correlating changes in audio.

Exemplary embodiments of methods and apparatuses to correlate changes in one audio signal to another audio signal are described. A first audio signal is outputted. A second audio signal is received. The second audio signal may be stored in a memory buffer. The first audio signal is correlated to conform to the second audio signal. The first audio signal may be dynamically correlated to match with the second audio signal while the second audio signal is received. At least in some embodiments, a size of a musical time unit of the second audio signal is determined to correlate the first audio signal. At least in some embodiments, the adjusted first audio signal is stored in another memory buffer. Chris Moulios is the inventor.

Three Apple patent applications at the US Patent & Trademark Office tie in with Wednesday's Apple TV announcements and may point to future developments. They describe methods to improve the experience of over-the-air syncing, and browsing of Internet-based content.

Patent number 20080301260 is for a method and user interface for accessing groups of media assets. Improved systems and methods to navigate, browse, search and/or playback digital media assets (e.g., media items) hosted on a media server are disclosed. One embodiment of the invention pertains to a user interface arrangement, such as a hierarchical menu system, that facilitates navigation, browsing and playing of media items remotely stored on a media server.

The user interface arrangement enables user scrolling or browsing with respect to a list or set of information pertaining to media items, where the list or set can be expanded to include information for additional media items that are subsequently...

Now that I'd had a few hours to think about all the announcements from Apple at yesterday's special event, here are some random musings about them.

Despite rumors of the iPod shuffle's demise, it lives on. For now. I still think that its days are numbered, now that the nano has gotten so small. Eventually, I think we'll see a 2GB nano replacing the shuffle entirely.

Hmmm, the new nano trades its camera for a touchscreen. Is that a good swap?

The iPod classic is still around, but received no update. As soon as the iPod touch reaches 128GB of capacity (it's only half that right now) you can bid adieu to the classic, which Apple seems to regard as the ugly ducking in the iPod line-up.

The new iPod touch sounds great, but I was hoping for a 128GB version now. And if the teeny nano can have an FM radio feature, why not the touch? Yes, that's right, I want it all and I want it now!

As for the Apple TV update, overall, I think it's a great step forward....

Everyone loves apps! A library of 225,000 iPhone/iPad apps and five billion downloads are impressive numbers for such a young platform and confirm the fast growing interest in apps-based computing.

Not only can apps run on smartphones, tablets and laptops but we predict the next platform for apps will be connected TVs. We see a living room where TV viewers click on a weather app or sports app instead of watching the local news. A home where families play a board game together on the TV using the Monopoly app, or stay in touch with their friends with a FaceBook app, all from the comfort of the living room couch.

Microsoft unlikely to win this battle

Unlike the battle for the desktop OS it doesn't look like Microsoft has much of a chance of winning this battle for the TV OS. Competition over who will provide a TV OS is heating up with Google TV getting...

iOS4 has recently been released to the iPod, providing the new features to a larger number of existing Apple customers. Of most importance to the Spy were multitasking and folders, the former in operational terms, the latter in organizational.

He wasted no time in reorganizing his five home pages down to two, with most applications in folders. To do this, hold a touch until the wiggle effect starts, then drop one app on top of another. A folder with both will be created, which can then readily be renamed to suit, and additional apps can be dragged into it. Most people will wonder how they got along without application folders.

Double clicking the bottom application switching button is now supposed to produce the multitasking bar, providing quick access to currently running processes. However, within individual applications the implementation of this feature is inconsistent. Even within the same application, sometimes a single press...

Apple will hold a special event today at 1 pm (Pacific) and speculation has been rampant about what will be announced. I've read pretty much all the predictions, mulled 'em over and decided this is what we'll see -- and won't see.

We will see:

° A new iPod touch with a front-facing camera, higher rez display and support for FaceTime;

° A revamped iPod nano that lacks a click wheel;

° A web-based version of the iTunes Store that will -- as "All Things D" put it -- "sync up easily with the rest of the Internet and make it much easier for customers to share their musical tastes (but not songs) with friends." It could offer easier integration for services like Twitter and Facebook, allowing users to link to the store and share playlists, songs and albums.

Apple has been granted eight patents by the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each.Patent number 7,788,656 is for a system for reducing the number of programs necessary to render an image. Disclosed is a system for reducing memory and computational requirements of graphics operations. The system provides techniques for combining otherwise individual operations to apply filters to images. The combined filter emerging from the combination spares the processor time and the creation of an entire intermediary image. The system further provides for application of these techniques in many contexts including where the operations are fragment programs in for a programmable GPU. John Harper is the inventor.

Patent number 7,788,582 involves techniques and graphical user interfaces for improved media item searching. Improved techniques and graphical user interfaces that assist users in searching through a group of media...

At a recent developer conference, Intel said its next-generation laptop chips based on the Sandy Bridge architecture will be able to play Blu-ray 3D movies while preserving battery life. Could this mean Blu-ray playback might finally arrive on the Mac? Probably, not but I'll keep hoping.

You won’t need to buy a separate graphics processor to specifically view 3D content. Sandy Bridge chips are slated to go into production later this year, and computers with 'em could arrive in the first half of next year.

Intel’s current laptop chips are capable of 1080p video, and improvements in Sandy Bridge chips could bring a noticeable graphics improvement to computers, according to "PC World" (http://macosg.me/2/so).

Sandy Bridge will be the first mainstream Intel chip to integrate the graphics processing unit (GPU) onto the same piece of silicon as the main processor, or CPU. This is possible thanks to...

More U.S. households are watching online video and on a wider variety of devices now than two years ago, but we're not sacrificing our TV viewing to do so, according to international research firm Parks Associates (http://www.parkassociates.com). At least not just yet.

The firm's "Digital Media Evolution II" study found 40% of all U.S. broadband homes now regularly watch long-form video on a computer. However, service providers can allay their fears of cord cutting for now as high use of computer video doesn't yet correlate with decreased TV viewing. "Yet" may be the key word here.

"People are using online video to fill in the gaps," says Kurt Scherf, vice president, principal analyst, Parks Associates. "When it comes to watching TV shows and movies, nobody's first choice is the computer. People will watch this content on a computer when it is not convenient or feasible to watch on a TV...

I have gotten a lot of feedback on my article regarding publishing iBooks. One conclusion I made was spot on: that Pages would soon offer an Export option in the ePub format required to publish books on-line.

An update of iWork 9 that went on line last night does just that. This makes it a snap to write books in Pages and simply choose ePub as the output format. One just creates an ePub format file directly from Pages and uploads to Apple's servers. I don't know if the process of uploading the ePub file has been streamlined or not. That would be cool and typical of Apple thoughtfulness.

Two interesting issues came up from my readers that I have not been able to answer. How does a non-US citizen publish iBooks since they don't have a Social Security number or US Tax Number required to open an iTunes account used for iBook publishers? Once an iBook is published and an ISBN number is assigned, can the book be modified or have...

I still haven't bitten the bullet and upgraded to a new iMac for a few reasons. One is that I was certain that USB 3.0 would be included, but wasn't. At first I felt that another iMac revision might be coming sooner than expected (early 2011?) with USB 3.0 support, but now I'm not so certain.
The more I think about it, Apple likes to push the envelope, and it's possible the company will forego USB 3.0 entirely and make the quantum leap to LightSpeed sooner than anyone expects.

Developed by Intel, Light Peak paves the way for a new generation of extreme computer input and output (I/O) performance, delivering 10Gb/s of bandwidth, with the potential ability to scale to 100Gbs over the next decade, according to David Perlmutter, executive vice president and general manager, Intel Architecture Group. At 10Gb/second, a user could purportedly transfer a full-length Blu-Ray movie in less than 30 seconds (of course, Steve Jobs doesn't' like Blu-ray, but still....). Intel says...

An Apple patent (number 20100213958) systems and methods for providing a system-on-substrate has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Offices. It involves shrinking the size of a system's circuitry by providing all of the components of the system on the same microchip -- such as the A4 processor used in the iPad.

The patent relates to systems and methods for providing a system-on-a-substrate. In some embodiments, the necessary components for an entire system (e.g., a processor, memory, accelerometers, I/O circuitry, or any other suitable components) can be fabricated on a single microchip in “bare die” form. The die can, for example, be coupled to suitable flash memory through a substrate and flexible printed circuit board (“flex”). In some embodiments, the flex can extend past the substrate, die, or both, to allow additional, relatively large components to be coupled to the flex.

In some embodiments, the die can be coupled to the flash memory through the flex...

An Apple patent (number 200100216526) for an audio jack with included microphone has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Embodiments of the invention relate to the field of electrical connectors; and more specifically, to electrical connectors that include a microphone.

Described is a connector for receiving a cylindrical plug includes a body defining a plug aperture and a cavity for receiving the cylindrical plug. A plurality of electrical contacts in communication with the cavity make electrical connections with the cylindrical plug and retain the cylindrical plug. A microphone is coupled to the body such that the plug aperture and the cavity provide an acoustic path to the microphone. The microphone may be at an end of the connector opposite the plug aperture or on a side of the connector adjacent the plug aperture. The connector allows a microphone to be added to a device, such as a mobile telephone, without the need for an additional external aperture....

An Apple patent (number 200100214448) that involves video acquisition with processing based on ancillary data has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. The company seems to be investigating ways to improve the features of its video editing titles.

The patent relates to processing video images, and more particularly to acquisition of video data with integrated processing using a graphics processing unit. Systems and techniques for processing sequences of video images involve receiving, on a computer, data corresponding to a sequence of video images detected by an image sensor. The received data is processed using a graphics processor to adjust one or more visual characteristics of the video images corresponding to the received data.
The received data can include video data defining pixel values and ancillary data relating to settings on the image sensor. The video data can be processed in accordance with ancillary data to adjust the visual characteristics,...

One of my favorite columnists (and a friend) is Gene "The Tech Night Owl" Steinberg. Usually, I agree with the Owl, but in a recent column (http://macosg.me/2/rz) he predicted that, by 2015, most of us will rely on an iPad or its successor for most computing-related tasks. However, I just can't see it.

Gene says that only a small number of high-end content creators will continue to depend on the old fashioned personal computer and input devices like current Macs. "Certainly the stellar success of the iPad shows that a lot of people are ready to embrace different user interfaces," he writes. "... On the long haul, the natural evolution of the iPad and iOS are sure to cause a revolution in the personal computer universe."

As I've said before, I find the iPad to be a great, portable device for media and content consumption. For content creation, well, not so much. I do lots of writing/reporting/researching...

In recent articles I attributed the embarrassingly flubbed Ken smartphone Microsoft launched as being a product of Mattel, when actually Sharp produced it. I was frankly deceived by the toy like quality of the Kin/Ken, thus never attributing the toy phone to a serious manufacturer like Sharp.

Actually, I am joking at the expense of Mr. Ballmer and the copycat software firm responsible for the Ken's release. Those folks, instead of being fired, were put to work building the (too late to be relevant) Windows 7 Mobile OS. I can't wait to see what wonders they can perform.

Microsoft has lost half its market cap since Mr. Ballmer took over the company from the other Steve. To their credit, Mattel never sued me for defamation or some other legal theory for embarrassing them with my insinuation they had anything to do with the Ken Phone. (I never seem to spell "Kin" the same way Microsoft did). The dilution of the "Barbie" brand...

The reports this week of an Apple patent for “transitioning between modes of input" underscores my conviction that we'll see touchscreen iMacs in the near future. I think Apple is preparing us for this with the release of its Magic TrackPad for Macs.

Some feel there's little demand for a touch screen computer. However, the growing popularity of iPhones, iPod touches, iPads and similar devices from Apple and other companies are making touch technology second nature to many people, especially young folks. It's just a matter of time before they want said technology on their computers.

Just as importantly (if not more so), Apple CEO Steve Jobs obviously LOVES touch technology, so it's inevitably going to find its way into all of Apple's line-up.

The patent mentioned previously provides a transition between input modes when the orientation of the display crosses a predetermined threshold. In other words, the display changes when the screen is tilted. Presumably,...

As I mentioned in this column in the past, the biggest problem Android will face in its attempt to be the "iPhone killer" that actually cuts into Apple's pie is being open source. In the debate over closed vs open software platforms, the issue that comes to the top, in terms of business success, is security for developers.

Android's app store is much smaller: 100,000 compared to Apple's 250,000 apps. What's more, while free apps in both stores are common, far and away the best paid apps are in the Apple App Store. There are a number of good reasons why this is -- and why it matters.

First of all, every app was written by someone called a developer. These people work hunched over a computer keyboard all day, consuming pizza and coffee in mass proportions. It is hard work, and there is a steep learning curve to writing apps that are professional in quality. These apps are more likely to be sold than given away.

I've been predicting that we'll see a touchscreen Mac in the near future. And an European Apple patent (W)/2010/006210) -- first reported by the "Patently Apple" site (http://www.patentlyapple.com/) -- reinforces the idea that Apple has plans for a touch screen iMac, as well as a tablet style laptop.

The patent is for "transitioning between modes of input." Transitioning between a high-resolution input mode, such as a mouse-based interface, and a low-resolution input mode, such as a touch-based interface, is described. A change of orientation of a touch screen between a first orientation and a second orientation is detected. Transitioning between the two input modes and corresponding user interfaces (UIs) is based on the detected change of orientation.

A change of orientation can be detected with one or more sensors, such as an accelerometer, position sensors, etc. Transitioning from...

Apple has been granted patents for a variety of items, including the design of the original iPod and iPod touch. Summaries of each are below.

Patent number 7782337 involves multi-conic gradient generation. Disclosed is a technique for computing a complex gradient using multiple conics. In connection with a computer system having a graphics processing unit (GPU) in addition to the normal central processing unit (CPU), gradients can be computed in real time. The conics may be rendered and adjusted in a number of ways, providing a rich palette for creation of gradient graphics. The computational efficiency of the algorithms disclosed herein, when executed on typical GPU hardware, allows rendering frame rates high enough to provide animated gradient images. The inventors are Mark Zimmer and Ralph Brunner.

Patent number 7783589 is for inverted index processing. Systems and methods for improving indexing are described. In one exemplary...

Apple wants to make it easier to connect media players to external devices, as evidenced by a patent (number 7783070) at the US Patent & Trademark Office. It's for a cable adapter for a media player system.

One aspect of the media player system pertains to a docking station that allows a media player to communicate with other media devices. Another aspect of the media player system pertains to a wireless media player system that includes a hand held media player capable of transmitting information over a wireless connection and one or more media devices capable of receiving information over the wireless connection.

Another aspect of the media player system pertains to a method of wirelessly connecting the hand held media player to another device. The method includes selecting a media item on the hand held media player; selecting one or more remote recipients on the hand held media player; and transmitting the media item locally to the hand held media player, and...

Clear, the new 4G wireless Internet provider "Clear" (associated with Sprint), provided me with a test unit of their new portable WiFi router. I tried it out in Kansas City, Kansas, and when I was able to actually hook up with their new 4G network, it worked fine and is fast. The problem is not with the cool looking 4G device, but with the limited radio coverage available at this time.

As AT&T users can testify to, the wireless device is only as good as the network that supports it. Clear is still building out their 4G network; when it is built out, it will be state of the art. There are a number of devices Clear offers that hook up to the faster 4G network cellular and then pump out a WiFi signal that will run up to eight iPhones, iPads or laptops at pretty much at full Wi-Fi speeds within Wi-Fi range.

The device they loaned me is very cool, something Apple's design guru, Johnny Ives, might have created. It is slick, jet...

My Bump and pay by phone article that run on Monday had some factual errors that I must correct. I got an email from a nice Lady from Bump Technologies with interesting insight into the "Bump" App I briefly described (http://itunes.apple.com/app/bump/id305479724?mt=8) , as well as interesting information she had regarding pay by smart phone that I must pass this on to you, my readers.

My assumption that the contact information traded between iPhones is done locally turns out to be wrong. It happens in the cloud! My assumption was that iPhones or Androids used Bluetooth to trade contacts. Here is the information Sadie Bascom sent me:

I did however want to offer a correction in a couple of places regarding the Bump app. Firstly, regarding this quote "Then comes Apple with a new Bump to Pay concept." PayPal is responsible for...

I'm a Comcast subscriber. I have their "Triple Play" bundle, but the cable company's creep up every month (and, in fact, leapt up instead of creeping last month), so I'm considering making a change. Perhaps the future Apple TV would be my impetus to switch.

We know Apple and other companies have been working on ePay systems using smart phones and some sort of electronic "radio bridge" to make it possible to pay for small things or even a tank of gas, by using your cell phone to pay.

RFID chips already make short range radio information reading devices possible for electronic checkout of a whole cart of goods, for example, simply by walking past an electronic check out point. Each item in the cart has an RFID chip on it that transmits an identification code containing a lot of information when it is hit by strong radio waves of a certain frequency. Bluetooth is another way to do the trick. Sounds cool, but the whole thing has sort of a "big brother," heavy handed feel to it. Can this be the Mark of the Beast or the next big bunko target, stealing you blind while you walk the streets unaware you have been just been financially mugged?

Software Updates via MacUpdate

MacFamilyTree 7.3.4 - Create and explore...

MacFamilyTree gives genealogy a facelift: it's modern, interactive, incredibly fast, and easy to use. We're convinced that generations of chroniclers would have loved to trade in their genealogy... Read more

Yummy FTP 1.10.2 - FTP/SFTP/FTPS client...

Yummy FTP is an FTP + SFTP + FTPS file transfer client which focuses on speed, reliability and productivity.
Whether you need to transfer a few files or a few thousand, schedule automatic backups, or... Read more

VueScan 9.5.08 - Scanner software with a...

VueScan is a scanning program that works with most high-quality flatbed and film scanners to produce scans that have excellent color fidelity and color balance. VueScan is easy to use, and has... Read more

Iridient Developer 3.0.1 - Powerful imag...

Iridient Developer (was RAW Developer) is a powerful image conversion application designed specifically for OS X. Iridient Developer gives advanced photographers total control over every aspect of... Read more

Air Video Server HD 2.1.0 - Stream video...

Air Video Server HD streams videos instantly from your computer on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple TV. No need to worry about converting or transferring files.
We took everything that was... Read more

Duplicate Annihilator 5.7.5 - Find and d...

Duplicate Annihilator takes on the time-consuming task of comparing the images in your iPhoto library using effective algorithms to make sure that no duplicate escapes.
Duplicate Annihilator... Read more

BusyContacts 1.0.2 - Fast, efficient con...

BusyContacts is a contact manager for OS X that makes creating, finding, and managing contacts faster and more efficient. It brings to contact management the same power, flexibility, and sharing... Read more

Capture One Pro 8.2.0.82 - RAW workflow...

Capture One Pro 8 is a professional RAW converter offering you ultimate image quality with accurate colors and incredible detail from more than 300 high-end cameras -- straight out of the box. It... Read more

Backblaze 4.0.0.872 - Online backup serv...

Backblaze is an online backup service designed from the ground-up for the Mac.With unlimited storage available for $5 per month, as well as a free 15-day trial, peace of mind is within reach with... Read more

Little Snitch 3.5.2 - Alerts you about o...

Little Snitch gives you control over your private outgoing data.
Track background activity As soon as your computer connects to the Internet, applications often have permission to send any... Read more

It seems like this month has been pretty big for wrestling. First Wrestlemania, then 2K has announces that they're releasing WWE 2K for iOS. It's a simulation-based WWE game where you'll get to play with several WWE superstars such as John Cena, ... | Read more »

How the Apple Watch Could Change the Fac...

The Apple Watch is still a ways out, but my previous musings on the wearable’s various features got me thinking: what might it be like a year after launch? Two years? Five years? What if it becomes a symbiotic part of the iOS framework to the point... | Read more »

Pie In The Sky: A Pizza Odyssey (Games)

Pie In The Sky: A Pizza Odyssey 1.0
Device: iOS Universal
Category: Games
Price: $2.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes)
Description:
A game about delivering pizza. In space.
| Read more »

Chosen Gives Hopeful Singers, Songwriter...

If YouTube videos and reality TV shows like The Voice have taught us one thing, it’s that there are a lot of people out there who are anxious to show the world their talents. And if they’ve taught us a second thing, it’s that there’s an almost... | Read more »

Android's Popular OfficeSuite Now A...

Once only available for Android devices, OfficeSuite has finally landed on the app store. The Mobile Systems app lets you view, edit, create, and share Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents as well as convert them to/from PDFs. It's touted as being... | Read more »

Warhammer: Arcane Magic is Coming Soon,...

Turbo Tape Games has announced that they're joining forces with Games Workshop to bring the turn-based strategy board game, Warhammer: Arcane Magic, to life on the iOS.
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Fast & Furious: Legacy's Creati...

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N-Fusion and 505's Ember is Totally...

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These are All the Apple Watch Apps and G...

The Apple Watch is less than a month from hitting store shelves, and once you get your hands on it you're probably going to want some apps and games to install. Fear not! We've compiled a list of all the Apple Watch apps and games we've been able to... | Read more »

Appy to Have Known You - Lee Hamlet Look...

Being at 148Apps these past 2 years has been an awesome experience that has taught me a great deal, and working with such a great team has been a privilege. Thank you to Rob Rich, and to both Rob LeFebvre and Jeff Scott before him, for helping me... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Adobe Brings Powerful Layout-Design Capabilit...

Adobe today announced the availability of Adobe Comp CC, a free iPad app that enables rapid creation of layout concepts for mobile, Web and print projects. With Comp CC, designers can rough out and... Read more

Apple offering refurbished 27-inch 5K iMacs f...

The Apple Store is offering Apple Certified Refurbished 27″ 3.5GHz 5K iMacs for $2119 including free shipping. Their price is $380 off the price of new models, and it’s the lowest price available for... Read more

16GB iPad mini on sale for $199, save $50

Walmart has 16GB iPad minis (1st generation) available for $199.99 on their online store, including free shipping. Their price is $50 off MSRP. Online orders only.
Read more

The Apple Store has Apple Certified Refurbished 13″ 2.6GHz/128GB Retina MacBook Pros available for $979 including free shipping. Original MSRP for this model was $1299.
Read more

Save up to $600 with Apple refurbished Mac Pr...

The Apple Store is offering Apple Certified Refurbished Mac Pros for up to $600 off the cost of new models. An Apple one-year warranty is included with each Mac Pro, and shipping is free. The... Read more

Samsung Galaxy S 6 and Galaxy S 6 edge U.S. P...

Samsung Electronics America, Inc. has announced the Galaxy S 6 and Galaxy S 6 edge will be available in the U.S. beginning April 10, with pre-orders being accepted now.
“We have completely reimagined... Read more

13-inch 2.5GHz MacBook Pro (refurbished) avai...

The Apple Store has Apple Certified Refurbished 13″ 2.5GHz MacBook Pros available for $829, or $270 off the cost of new models. Apple’s one-year warranty is standard, and shipping is free:
- 13″ 2.... Read more

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